WHY GODS WANT TO BE PEOPLE

ACHILLES SAID IT: "THE GODS ENVY US".   And there's a convincing movie: "WINGS OF DESIRE"---the story of an angel who carefully looks at the human experience and then wants to be one.
It is an old old idea, going back thousands of years BCE and is a central notion in the Bhagavad Gita.
The mystic William Blake concluded: "eternity is in love with the productions of time."
I say: IT'S GREAT TO BE ALIVE!!! Here's some recent experiences that confirm it for me.

The road from Portland to Tillamook---A joy to drive

and when you arrive the cheese factory makes you welcome.  Free cheese.

And just outside town this giant building still preserved. (not the blimps) 

My first glimpse of the beach---sooooo cool and beautiful and free.  A bygone governor decreed that all Oregon's beaches are public property and accessible to all.

fledgling flyers lifted my heart---Who would have believed yesteryear that one day we would fly like birds-----made me remember Shakespeare:  

"What a piece of work is man!

How noble in reason!

How infinite in faculty!

In form and moving how express and admirable!

In action how like an angel!

In apprehension how like a god!

The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals." (Hamlet act2 scene 2)

Can you see that angel actually soaring?

And for the first time in my camping career (10,000 plus nights) I settle into an RV resort: Thousand trails Pacific beach, Or. (cost me less than $2 a day)

Very near paradise---beautiful, convenient, nice neighbors, hot tubs, etc.

I'm given 2 weeks.

This was a memorable moment: As the music played, this bold kid got up and danced----all alone--not for the crowd watching, but FOR HIMSELF.  It was beautiful--rhythmic---and he danced a long time. I was blown away.  I will believe I am enlightened when I can cast off self consciousness and express myself like this.  I wanted to dance but was short of Huevos.

One day on the beach I encountered a dying gull.  I sat beside it awhile--thinking to comfort it.  

And that very day I saw this friendly old dog just drop in the street as it was being walked.  People ran to its rescue, but I think it died.

One day I settled in at a viewing site to see whom I would meet.

Lots of nice people including this guy who chatted with me for an hour.  His work is to design programs that detect viruses and fraud.

And this adventurous guy bicycling to San Francisco.

A week of Paradise was about all I wanted.  Don't know why.  I supposed it was to me like lemon iced box pie---a little goes a long way.  So I left early and relocated at Chinook Winds casino--right on the ocean--note the time and temperature.  

Myself and 50 more rigs settle here in the parking lot. (I'm located center left)

The beach is just steps away.  A bridal party is doing----something?

One day I went to a sand castle contest for amateurs.  This teenager is lovingly sculpting his fantasy woman.

A team of adults collaborate on a castle.

And someone devised a bathtub scene.  The green is seaweed.

This scene touched me---a father--earnestly playing with his son.  They are so absorbed, they didn't notice me.

Another day I watched people mold glass.

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES:  Do you get my point?  It really is great to be alive. Thoreau said it better than I could:  "LIVING IS SO DEAR!"-- "HOWEVER MEAN YOUR LIFE IS, MEET IT AND LIVE IT; DO NOT SHUN IT AND CALL IT HARD NAMES.  IT IS NOT SO BAD AS YOU ARE. IT LOOKS POOREST WHEN YOU ARE RICHEST.  THE FAULT FINDER WILL FIND FAULTS EVEN IN PARADISE. LOVE YOUR LIFE, POOR AS IT IS.  YOU MAY PERHAPS HAVE SOME PLEASANT, THRILLING, GLORIOUS HOURS, EVEN IN A POOR HOUSE.

HOWLING MOBS---A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY

RANDY RANTS AGAINST THE HOWLING MOBS IN MISSOURI.

Our founding fathers used those very words to warn us against mob rule and mob influence.  Collectively we are much more evil than we are individually, a fact long ago described by Rhinhold Niebur in his book "Moral Man and Immoral Society.  The street rage in Ferguson, Missouri proves the point---in spades.  They are enraged and irrational---and probably DEAD WRONG in their assumptions about the death of that youth.  They have given no thought the central question of how a policeman is supposed to deal with an attack.  Should the policeman "fight him fair"? Not use his weapon.? This kid could possibly have killed the policeman.
The message that should go out to anyone dealing with a policeman is that  TO RESIST ARREST IS TO RISK DEATH.  If you did no wrong---if you have been misunderstood---you will have a chance to explain an justify yourself.
I know whereof I speak here because I have made more than 200 arrests on the streets of New Orleans and three times I have been put in fear of my life.  Once in Desire Street Project, I was surrounded by by a crowd of angry blacks.  Luckily, backup arrived just in time.

Most of us have cause to be angry---about lots of things---economic injustice primarily.  We should, from time to time, take to the streets in peaceful protest.  But this issue is the wrong one to mobilize around. I predict that in the end it will be judged by the courts to be "A JUSTIFIABLE SHOOT".

LEARN A NEW WORD:---VACILANDO: DRIFTING WITH DIRECTION---BUT WITHOUT DESTINATION

There is no English equivalent for this Spanish word describing EXACTLY what I am doing.  Here's what it looks like in action.

After sleeping on the altar stone at Stonehenge, I met this nice couple bicycling from the West coast to the east---3000 miles.  Only 2500 to go.

I'm drifting West and I've just  contacted  a holy man on that mountain in the distance.  Recognize it ---It's Mt Hood.  He's up there meditating--and whatever holy men do. We are friends and he's agreed to come down from the mountain and meet me in Hood River, Oregon a few days hence.

I pause at a rest area for a nap and wake surrounded by prisoners.  I walked among them to see what I would feel.  (uneasy) Took this picture surreptitiously.

The river along here is wide and beautiful but it's time to find a place to camp.

On pure instinct I turned into this dead end road. 

Found this great campsite.  Settled in for 2 nights.  Hiked the area.

At the appointed time and place my friend showed up.

Most of my readers will recognize him at once, Wayne Wirs a vagabond mystic I met some years ago.

He shows me the latest tweaks to his rig--overhead storage, etc.

I'm intrigued by the supporting technology and plumbing he's installed in the rear. This type rig may be the best way yet devised to move freely and frugally about the country.

We walk and talk all day---about things mystical and material--while appreciating the wind-powered sub culture here.  The winds here are said to be the best in the world--- 

for kite surfing.  Amazing to watch them skim across the water---and then skim back at the same speed.

Wayne returned to the mountain heights while I passed the night at this hidden nook just outside the city limits.  (How did I find it?  I asked a van dweller)

Continuing West on the Oregon side of the river, I pulled into a spot to find this lovely lady.  Can you guess who she is?  Of course---it's an idealized sculpture of Sacagawea the Indian guide to Lewis and Clarke.

Ah yes, and here she is again---IN SEDONA ARIZONA.  Different dress--same lady. I thought she looked familiar.  And this time I will show you the son she gave birth to on the journey and carried on her back.  (prepare yourself--this is a bit of sculptural genius)

There he is---comforting himself by touching mom's finger. 

Stopped again to see what this guy was doing on his platform above the river.  Fishing of course--sort of--he's just dipping a hoop net into the water. 

And damned if the fish don't just swim right into it.  Wonders won't cease.  He drove to a roadside pull off and offered them for sale.

I'm nearing the western end of the Columbia Gorge---will find a place to settle for the night before crossing Portland.

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES:    Steinbeck distilled his vacilando into his book TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY. I  find it a very satisfying way to travel.  Next entry I hope to catch up with myself on the coast.  My overall hope is that my adventures distill into something useful I can share..  And If not, I simply will have enjoyed myself.  Not a bad gamble.

Wayne Wirs

SLEEPING WITH A DEAD TYCOON ---BENEATH A PERIGEE MOON

YEAH I DID THAT---THE SITUATION SPOKE --- AND I RESPONDED! ---EINSTEIN'S SPIRIT HOVERED NEAR.

I know there's a holy place near---high on a lonely hill.  Yes---that's it---I can drive there.

Nary a soul in sight---but I know the Tycoon is somewhere near.

This is the memorial he built--a replica of Stonehenge as it originally looked--complete with its sacrificial altar stone.  I go looking for his resting place.

Somewhere overlooking the majestic Columbia river.

And that tiny village below.

Ah yes, there he is--a man rich enough to own a private cemetery-for-one.  a man whose very name is a cliche and you have likely spoken it:  SAM HILL----(as in: Who in Sam Hill did this or that )

Meet Sam Hill---a man I admire---a visionary.  Read all about him:here

I go back and let the stones and the moment speak to me.

It is requesting intimacy?---not sure what that might mean.

I walk the area---relax my mind--consult my intuition.  Shall I camp the night here?---is that what it wants--company?

I wander back inside---darkness descends---the windmills whisper on.  Still no answer.

I Watch the perigee moonrise. ( closest to earth)

And rise a bit more.  SUDDENLY I GOT THE MESSAGE:  IT WANTS ME TO SLEEP WITH IT.

Yes--sleep-- right there-- on the altar stone!  I got a rush contemplating it---hurriedly--got a foam pad and a sleeping bag--lay down feeling delighted---this was exactly what I felt drawn to do.  As I lay there looking at the sky I saw one tiny curious thing: a white light with about double the brilliance of Venus illuminated directly overhead for about 3 seconds and faded--like a slow wink.  Didn't repeat.  Found it intriguing--not scary.  Resolved to do more of this--to sleep some star-filled night atop my rig and look at the sky.---Things are happening up there. if you look awhile you'll see. 

 I had a dream but forgot it.  But dreams do their work --remembered or not.

Woke with sunrise and took this selfie---feeling satisfied and complete--like I'd had a night with a lover.

I'm guessing that you too have slept on an altar stone---or its equivalent--sometime in your life.

So why do I mention the ghost of Einstein?  Because near this spot--June 9, 1918,  Astronomer Heber Curtis came here to photograph a total eclipse that would validate  or disprove Einstein's theory.  His mission was inconclusive because of clouds---but his highly publicized effort made Einstein famous.    

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES:  I'm glad I did this weird thing---it felt right. Engaging recently with my mystical friend Wayne Wirs influences me to listen for subtle messages wherever I find myself. What if he's right? ---What if there is available to us wisdom and guidance beyond our immediate conscious, thinking--knee jerk mind?  What if there's a better guide.  I like to think of it as my deepest intuition.  Wayne calls it something else.